Young Entrepreneurs Academy students pitch startup ideas to local investors

Wednesday

Apr 2, 2014 at 10:27 AM

By Melody Burri melody@messengerpostmedia.com

HOPEWELL — Five middle school students — each already a CEO of his or her own startup company — pitched their “big ideas” to local business investors Tuesday as participants in the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) Investor Panel event at Finger Lakes Community College.“Just seeing this passion and energy coming from such young adults is amazing,” said YEA! volunteer Mandy Friend, also the event’s MC. “They’ve inspired their peers, their friends, their parents — they’ve inspired everybody here.”Seventh and eighth graders Alex Ferber, Joel Krop, Maeve Mahoney, Ethan Owens and Kayleigh Rotter took turns on stage pitching their business plans through formal presentations, which included visuals, statistics and demonstrations. Then, based on the appeal and merit of the plans and presentations, representatives from Canandaigua National Bank & Trust, Finger Lakes Technologies Group, UBS Financial Services, The Pitti Group Wealth Advisors at Morgan Stanley, and Leonard's Express determined the amount of funds to allocate to each business.Friend said the participants did not know in advance which companies they’d be pitching to, but were well prepared for anything. The investors offered good insight because they not only had local roots, but also understood the entrepreneurial perspective, she said.“Being up on stage was nerve-wracking,” said Kayleigh. “But once you really got going, you realized how nice everyone was and how they wanted you to succeed in your business.”Maeve Mahoney said the experience was a great opportunity and despite her nervousness, SHE had a lot of fun.Investors awarded Alex Ferber’s brainchild, Sho-worx, $1,200 to help produce and market a device that provides automobile specs electronically from the showroom floor to prospective buyers. Joel Krop’s game creation, Fris-V, creatively combines Velcro Frisbee-tossing and T-shirts, and received $1,300 in backing. Maeve Mahoney’s business, MM Photography, prints images on wall decals, lacrosse stick wraps and other items, and received $700 in funding. Hockey Innovations by Ethan Owens offers a device that keeps hockey socks from slipping down during a game, and received $300. And Kayleigh Rotter’s Buttons and Bones Pet Treats — made at home and completely gluten-free, received $1,500 in backing.Kayleigh was chosen to move on to the Saunders North East Regional Competition, the next step up in YEA!, held in Rochester on May 1-3.“It’s a lot bigger,” said Kayleigh of the semifinals. “It takes three days to get through everyone. And then finals are in Washington, D.C. on June 11 and 12.”Prior to Tuesday’s event, students had worked in close cooperation with local leaders of industry, community members and educators to develop ideas and objectives, write business plans, pitch potential investors, obtain funding, register with governmental agencies, and develop their brand identity.Canandaigua YEA! is co-sponsored by the Canandaigua Chamber of Commerce, Finger Lakes Community College and the Canandaigua City School District.